Editorial: Park Agencies Merger

By an impressive and overwhelming margin, Philadelphia voters on Election Day put their faith in a plan to improve Fairmount Park by merging the park's operations with the city Recreation Department.

Now, Mayor Nutter and City Council have to make sure that the realignment of the two city agencies lives up to its promise.

The merger should enhance the park, but it cannot be allowed to compromise the watchdog role admirably performed for the past 141 years by the Fairmount Park Commission.

There's little doubt that the City Charter amendment approved Tuesday will give Nutter a stronger hand in delivering on his campaign pledge to improve park maintenance and programs. Yet the change in governance will be meaningless if the park isn't preserved for future generations.

The spectre that city officials somehow would open vast swaths of Fairmount Park to development was raised by some park advocates and Fairmount Park Commission members opposed to the merger.

In a climate where once-unlimited campaign contributions fueled the city's pay-to-play political culture, their skepticism wasn't without foundation. But now that the voters have spoken, the best response would be to prove the critics' fears wrong.

Even before the vote on Tuesday, Councilman Darrell L. Clarke - who authored the charter change with Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown - pushed through tighter rules for Council approval of park land uses. In another smart move, Clarke and Reynolds Brown on Thursday urged that Nutter set up a public/private task force to work out the merger details.

A key safeguard as part of the merger will be land-preservation guidelines drafted by the new advisory commission that will replace the Fairmount Park panel. Nutter, in consultation with Council and park advocates, needs to move quickly to get the commission up and running through an open appointment process that stresses panelists' expertise on park matters.

Of course, the most critical pick will be the mayor's choice for a parks and recreation commissioner. Offering the chance to run the nation's largest urban park system, Philadelphia should be able to attract a top-notch administrator.

On funding, Nutter should do everything possible to keep his pledge to ramp up city dollars going to the parks. Thursday's wrenching announcement that the city budget crunch will force him to scale back proposed increases will take Fairmount Park in the wrong direction.

As soon as the city's budget picture improves, Nutter should restore budget increases that are a wise investment. A recent study done for the city's largest parks friends group, the Philadelphia Parks Alliance, noted that city parks are worth nearly $1.9 billion annually in services, income and taxes.

Given voters' resounding "yes" to park reform this past week, private donors can have greater confidence in partnering with the city to fund park and recreation initiatives. That's critical to sustaining the park.

Apart from the Phillies, few city attractions may have as many fans as does Fairmount Park. The merger vote demonstrates how deeply citizens care - and points out the need to honor the commitment to the park's revitalization.